Carbon
fiber reinforced plastic, or CFRP, is a strong, light and very expensive composite material
which, because of its mechanical properties is used to build racing cars
at every level.

It
has many applications in aerospace and automotive
fields, as well as in sailboats, and notably in modern bicycles, where
these qualities are of importance. It is becoming increasingly common in
small consumer
goods as well, such as laptop computers,
tripods, fishing rods, racquet sports
frames, stringed
instrument bodies, classical guitar strings, and drum shells.

In
the the 1960s Colin Chapman, chief designer of Lotus, introduced the
monocoque to formula one by placing thin plates around the bars of the
chassis. This new technology increased the stiffness of the chassis
- a semi-monocoque.

Later
on in the seventies, aluminium was mostly used for racing cars
construction, but when these structures proved not be be strong enough to
manage down force from wings, John Barnard from McLaren came up with the
first self supporting chassis made from carbon fibre. Barnard used an
American company " Hercules Aerospace" because McLaren didn't
have the materials and knowledge at the time.

In
1981, the McLaren drivers proved the safety and advantages of the new way
of construction. John Watson finished twice second and once first in that
season. Andrea De Cesaris proved the stiffness of the monocoque, by
surviving several crashes in that season.

Properties

Carbonfibre
is a non isotrope material, which means that all fibres have to point the
same direction as the forcelines through the material. If this is not the
case, there will be an opposite effect. To better understand this, wood is
also a non isotrope also, aluminium and copper.

You can see from the table below that carbon fibre is roughly 3 times
stronger and more than 4 times lighter than steel.

Material

Tensile
strength

Density

Specific
strength

Carbon
fibre

3.50

1.75

2.00

Steel

1.30

7.90

0.17

Carbon
fibre rear wheel

Building
in F1

F1
teams use carbon fibres, a pre-impregnated epoxy resin and an aluminium
honeycomb layer, which is sandwiched between two layers of carbon fibre.
The chassis is usually the first part of the car to be built, due to the
amount of time required for cure.

The
main chassis usually comprises of about 8 parts (panels). The first stage of
the manufacturing process is to build a solid (computer cut) pattern, from
which a mold for the panel is produced. The molds are constructed by laying
a total of 10 layers of pre-impregnated (with resin) carbon fibre on top of
each pattern to produce the mold. The production of the mold takes place in
several stages, involving vacuum treatments, de-bulking and heating
processes. The mold then has to be thoroughly cleaned and prepared for use.

The
next phase is the actual fabrication of a car parts, made from sheets of
pre-cut, pre-impregnated carbon fibre, which are carefully laid inside the
molds. It is thereby vital orientate the carbon fibre sheets in pre
determined directions in order to achieve the desired strength. A total of 5
layers of carbon fibre are laid, forming the outer skin of the chassis (to
achieve a final, cured thickness of 1mm, a total of 3-4 layers of carbon
fibre must be laid down).

The
next stage of the process is to cure the carbon fibre in an autoclave. This
exposes the carbon fibre to a number of temperature / pressure cycles
according to the specific requirements of the materials and components being
processed. During this treatment, the resin impregnated in the carbon fibre
flows into the surrounding fibres and is activated, thereby curing the
carbon fibre. Once the outer skin has been cured and cooled down, a honeyomb
layer of aluminium is fixed onto the outer skin by a sheet of resin to
ensure the materials stick stongly together.

The
chassis panel then returns to the autoclave for curing. After having cooled
down again, one more layer, consisting of a number of pre-impregnated carbon
fibre sheet is placed on top the existing skin, and again treated in the
autoclave for a final time.

When
the part is completely produced, it is sent to an evaluation department, and
when proven good, it can be used for racing.

We
are committed to working closely with our customers to provide
them with a service that will meet with all their
requirements. The majority of our work is on site repairs. In
the marina, or in dry dock. Our expert in sailing boat and
power yachts will.

We
repair classic racing cars and also produce replacement
fibreglass parts. Our skilled craftsmen have 25 years
experience in the trade.

We have been repairing boats for over 20 years. As Dateline
Marine Services, we looked after many of the Honda Formula 4
stroke off-shore race boats, both 150 and 225 class.

We repair sports boats, jet skis, car bodywork and much more.
We also undertake project management for small craft
restoration.
We offer a mobile/on site repair service for your craft.

We also buy (running or not) and sell outboard motors, small
boats and other marine related items.

We offer free advice and a friendly service using only quality
approved materials.

CARBON
FIBRE TECHNOLOGIES (CFT) LTD. is one of those companies that make up the
backbone of the British motorsport industry. The Motorsport Industry
Association: The National Survey of Motorsport Engineering and Services -
2000, describes the motorsport engineering industry as split into two parts:
the top 50 companies, and the remaining, approximately 1150 companies that
generate around 78% of the $4.1 billion income and employ around 84% of the
25,000 employees in the industry. Looked at another way, that means that the
1000+ smaller companies generate between $1.4m and $2.8m from their 10-20
employees, on average. CFT is one of these companies, and without them,
British motorsport would not be the world leader it undeniably is today.

Arthur
Woolhouse

When
Arthur Woolhouse, Managing Director, and Gavin Gilliatt, Financial Director,
set up CFT in 1994, in a 170m2 factory in Ashwellthorpe, Norfolk, they had
just one employee. Since then, CFT has expanded into two adjoining
factories, covering a total of 480m2, and the staff has increased to 19. The
company now offers a full range of advanced composite design, engineering
and manufacturing services, including structural analysis, pattern making
and low-volume production.